Ballarat marathon runner Julian Spence claimed his fourth Great Ocean Road marathon in a row on the weekend.
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Spence completed the 44 kilometre course in 2 hours, 35 minutes and 43 seconds to be 32 seconds clear of second-placed Peter Kerr.
Spence handled the windy conditions beautifully, leading at the half marathon stage, just in front of the top breakaway group of Kerr and eventual third-placer Dion Finocchiaro.
The Great Ocean Road Marathon is one of Australia's toughest, following the undulating twists, turns and inclines of the Great Ocean Rd along the entire course.
This was Spence’s seventh start in the marathon.
Rhiannon Snipe and Kristin Bull had tight finish to decide who was the fastest female, Snipe – in a time of 3:06:32 – eight seconds clear of Bull, to finish 15th overall.
Stephen Dinneen won the half marathon, nearly a minute clear of Simon Hurt. While Ellie Pashley (1:21:39) was the fastest female to cross the line.
Jack Rayner (42:16) won the 14km run, Olympian and Ballarat figure Steve Moneghetti finished 10th, just over six minutes behind the leader.